News & Stories

Vienna. In Austria, tax is to be reviewed for the hotel sector. Against a backdrop of increasingly precarious operating results, the aim is to provide some relief for hoteliers with respect to labour costs.

Prague. CPI Hotels is expanding its activities in the Czech Republic and has also entered into the European market. The portfolio of one of the largest Czech hotel groups has as of 1 July 2014 grown by the addition of Mamaison Hotels & Residences operating in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Russia.

Vienna. The book finds its way into the hotel in many ways, from the library to the bedside table all the way to cultural event. Now, Austria's private hoteliers have shown how it can be successfully turned into a useful customer loyalty tool. Sonja Juffinger-Konzett raves: "Hotels are my greatest love." "I love everything, the food, the wine, the decoration." Of course day-to-day obligations set limits. Yet the limits imposed by work are also helped by another passion: literature.

Wiesbaden. Particularly young lifestyle hotels are increasingly discovering in-house music as a marketing tool. They are trying out various kinds of concepts in order to attract and bind young guests. Ruby Hotels trusts in its "Ruby Radio", prizeotel trusts in music streams via the Internet and cloud. On the other hand, Rilano hotels have already cancelled their downloads solely trusting in their own radio, and Starwood Hotels demonstrates how to use musical preferences brilliantly for a loyality program. At any rate, the days of monotonous canned background music are finally over. Individual music mixes, dedicated radio programmes, or series of concerts bind customers, increase sympathy and hotel emotions.

Edinburgh / Frankfurt. Lost luggage, huge queues, congested gates: As a general rule, the greatest amount of travel stress stems from the arrival and departure. This should change. Airports and airlines are intensively working on offering more comfort to travellers.

St. Christoph/Arlberg. Florian Werner of Arlberg Hospiz is relieved: He succeeded with the interim financing for his new cultural project in the Austrian Alps at the very last minute. Only one single bank has understood what the owning family of the privately-controlled, internationally-known ski resort in Arlberg wished to do with their 27 million Euro investment. The work on the excavation for the new concert hall and arts centre at 1,800 metres began this week; 16 new residences that will be coupled with everything within the hotel operations will also originate. Florian Werner has financed the unusual "arlberg 1800" project with them that will provide for a publicity-effective platform for contemporary music and art as well as for its makers. The benefit is already in sight.

Munich/Bad Arolsen. The contract for the next hotel in Munich – a 350-room hotel – is just about to be signed, yet even without this Hospitality Alliance AG is happy with the launch of its 536-room hotel complex containing the two brands Ramada and H2 directly opposite Munich Messe. Berlin began the success story for this brand duo. Now, the hotel operator from Bad Arolsen has a new focus in its strategy. Ramada, up to now the master franchisee for the Wyndham brand, has, as reported, recently waived its exclusive development rights. As a result, it is now completely free to choose its future franchise brands and to develop its own brands. HA CEO Alexander Fitz has also announced a new full service-hotel brand.

Palma de Mallorca. The Spanish group Meliá Hotels International continues its strategy to upgrade its brands and products. The latest venture is the relaunch of its family vacation brand of Sol Hotels & Resorts which will be divided into four sub brands.

Vienna/Zagreb. Through the merger of three key companies of the Austrian-Croatian Valamar Group, Valamar has now become the largest tourism group in Croatia.

Ainring. The new supplier for hotel certificates is expressly disassociating itself from drastically discounted vouchers and shady bargain offers, but the partially unserious image of the others has made the start-up difficult. The young marketing consortium is now taking up the slow journey.